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I saved the best for last, at least my favorite Kong toy. Drum roll…tatatatatatatatatat.. It’s the Kong classic. Why having such a boring toy as my favorite? Because Mom fills them with love.. okay, not love dog treats and PEANUT BUTTER!! These Kong Classics can be used a general chew toys or something to play fetch with but their best use is as a treat filled goodie ball to bribe us pups. Mom stuffs the ball with either treats or just plain dog food but then she plugs the hole with peanut butter and puts them in the freezer overnight. Then when Dad leaves for work in the morning Trey and I each get a Kong ball and head into our crates to eat our sweet treat.

Mom got me a Kong Traxx (tire) since I have an obsession with another tire toy I had but to be honest this one does nothing for me. I have two other non-Kong tires, one is smaller and the other is a much larger tire and they both get much more play time. I like to hold the smaller tire in my mouth and squeeze it (collapse it) while the bigger is used for general chewing, tug-of-war and just play carry around and give to Mom toy (I am on my 2nd of those).

Overall I would have to say this toy is just too small for chewing because if it did interest me, just feeling it, I would have killed it. However if you are just the type that likes to mouth toys they you would probably like it.

Pros:
Flexible rubber for pups that like the mouth toys

Cons:
To small for the 30-65lb chewer it is recommended for

Recommend:
Not for the chewer, I think this would be great for a large puppy for the dogs that like to carry and/or mouth toys.

Here is another Kong ball I have, the KONG Squeezz Ball Dog Toy. This is another fun ball I keep around the house. I normally play with this one when I am looking for a squeaking ball. I’ve had this thing for a couple years now and it is still in good condition and the squeaker still works. I can’t rave but definitely can not complain about the toy, after all it is still in good condition. I wouldn’t rave about it only because I have a large selection of balls and this one tends to get left in the toy box most days since I like the slightly bigger, heavier Kong ball I talked about earlier in this series.

Pros:
Overall Durable
Durable Squeaker
Fun colors
Price

Cons:
Bigger than a tennis ball so it doesn’t fit in the thrower, although that is okay because I use this as an indoor toy.

Wubba Wubba Wubba.. I just love the name! To save you some time, if you are a chewer just say NO. Yes they look like loads of fun, but unless you have someone responsible (looking at you humans) to tell you no, then your won’t be able to resist the urge to kill these. If you are looking to have fun with your human then these are a fun supervised toy (like a frisbee). As you can see from the picture below I have Wubbas. The toy on the right (not Trey’s paw) is designed for water use. Mom bought this toy for me in hopes if would get me to swim, but fat chance on that, if my feet can touch the bottom I don’t go any deeper. The toy is a light weight neoprene type material is good for water toys but bad for chewers, give me 10 second alone with this toy and I will kill it. The toy on the left is a regular Wubba which is just two balls covered in a tough nylon. The nylon decent for rough play, but those strings on the bottom wont last a chewer, if you look close you can see the damage I have already done. However this can be a fun toy to play fetch with, when you throw the Wubba it has a lot of surface area to grab and catch it without a lot of additional weight. It is also a fun toy to grab and shake, assuming you hold it by the big end otherwise OUCH!.

Pros:
Easy to hold
Easy to throw
Several options for water, general play and cuddling

I have to admit this toy has been in our toy box since before I was born. Mom bought this toy for Trey years ago but before I came along, Trey preferred to love on soft plush toys so it got very little play. Going back through my puppy pictures I found a few with this toy. I think Mom hid this away when I got bigger because she was afraid it wouldn’t last with my reputation for toys (with good reason bawhahah). However since we barked about doing a Kong series Mom decided to pull it out of the toy box and let me have it.

After a bit of play here are my thoughts, although it looks like a tennis ball it is a bit more durable with thicker walls than a standard tennis ball. It has the nice fuzzy soft feel of a tennis ball and it is nice to hold. Being long you can hold it in the middle and still have enough out the side of your mouth to waive it in front of your brother/sister but still play keep away. Surprisingly the squeaker does seem to be holding out (normally first to go on my toys) but I think it is because I haven’t narrowed down the location of the air hole so I haven’t stuck my tooth in there yet to pop in/out the squeaker.

Here is my 2nd favorite Kong toy, the Kong ball. This ball comes in 2 sizes a small and a medium-large. The small is 2.5 inches and the M/L is 3 inches and I of course have the M/L. I love this ball, it is a solid rubber toy and has a bit of bounce and seems indestructible to me. In our house, tennis balls normally last 1 play session (fetch) before they are splitting, but this ball is solid, it has no give at all. The size is also perfect for my mouth at 3 inches I can hold it fine but I can’t grip it in my back teeth or as Mom calls it, The destruction zone (where most toys go to die) so I can’t kill it. After several months of carrying this thing around, inside and out there are not even teeth marks on it. I don’t think I really have a complaint on this one, except it doesn’t bounce as well and doesn’t get thrown as far because it is heavier than a tennis ball. Although Mom does complain if I have this in the house and drop it on her foot.

Pros:
Lasts a bazillion times longer than a tennis ball (for me)
VERY durable
Still has bounce (nothing compared to tennis ball)
Bigger than a tennis ball, so for a mouth my size it doesn’t allow me to chew on it

Cons:
Price, its about $15, but if you play fetch a lot it should save you in the long run if you go through a lot of tennis balls.
Bigger than a tennis ball (also a pro) so it doesn’t fit in the tennis ball thrower.

The second Kong product I thought I would bark about this series is the Kong Classic Flyer aka Kong Frisbee. Trey and I have a collection of cheap Frisbees that we got free from dog events. Those freebies are stored away for a rainy destruction day since those last 1 throw with us. When Trey and I pay frisbee it’s more than a game, it’s a competition. It’s all about who can get it first, followed by a game of tug-of-war normally broken up by Mom or Dad. This competition immediately leaves plastic freebie with holes from our teeth and after a couple throws they are toast. Since we enjoy the game so much Mom put out a little extra money to try this Kong flier. After a few plays I have to give it an okay review.

First the flyer is made of the typical Kong red rubber, making it heavier than the typical frisbee so it doesn’t fly as well, but it does fly. Also with our game of tug of war we have ripped a hole in it so it has been reduced to backup frisbee. On the other hand if we didn’t play tug-of-war I would give it better marks since I do love when I get hold of it I can shake it and slap myself in the face (I don’t know why, but I love toys that do that). Personally I have 2 other frisbee options I like a little better, my Chuck It Flying Squirrel has much better hang time in the air and is just as durable, then the Dura Doggie Disc which has better distance is a lot more durable.

Pros:
More durable than standard plastic frisbee
Floppy enough to shake and slap yourself (if you like that)
Great toy if you don’t play tug-of-war but are still rough on them
Looks like it will stand a bit of chewing
A softer rubber than wont hurt your mouth if you chew while carrying it.

Cons:
Pricer than normal frisbees (approx $12)
Doesn’t fly as nice as my Chuck It Flying Squirrel or Dura Doggie Disc
Wont hold out with two dogs fighting over it.

Recommend:
Not Really. I wouldn’t just say “no” because it is a decent product, but I like my other options better. I would recomment the Chuck It Flying Squirrel for dogs learning to catch frisbees, it has a better hang time. Then for those who want flying distance and/or durability I like the Dura Doggie Disc. Honestly I think Kong should consider buying out the Dura Doggie Disc before they get a good hold on that market. Dye it red stamp their name on it and I would believe it was theirs, great design and durability are things I think of with Kong. I did look online and saw that Kong has an “Extreme” version that is black, we might have to take a look at it next time we are in Petsmart or Petco.

Recommend:
YES! Unless you are entering frisbee competitions this is a great flying disc, it has good hang time and decent distance for being a heavy duty toy. Of course just like all frisbees it is not a toy you can leave a chewer alone with but it will live through a game of dobie tug-o-war.

Wiggly Giggly you made me laugh, you also tasted good. Yep, you know what that means, I ate it or as much as I could before you were whisked by Mom. I got this bright colored dumbbell during on of my many adventures to the pet store. Mom first spotted and picked it up and it made a funny sound, you know one of those sounds that makes you turn your head sideways. From the moment I heard that sound I wanted it and with my patented puuuleeeazzze momma I promise to love it forever look I shot to Mom, it was quickly bought and paid for. When I got home Mom tossed my new toy to me to let the fun begin, and begin it did. I carried it around for a few minutes waiting for Mom to turn her back, then I began my quest to find out what made that noise. Unfortunately less than 5 minutes into my quest I was discovered and it was taken away never to be seen again. I do mourn the loss of this bright funny sounding toy and wish it lasted longer, perhaps if it was a little tougher I would have gave up finding the noise maker and just enjoyed it.

Excuse the dirt, but isn’t that the sign of a well loved toy? I have to show you one of my two favorite frisbee/disc type toys (I’ll talk about the other later) it’s the Flying Squirrel made by Chuck It. This frisbee/disc type toy is made of a canvas type material with rubber like weights on each of it feet for balance. What is great about this toy is the hang time it has when Mom or Dad tosses it in the air it takes much longer to come down to the ground than normal frisbees. The hang time is a great confidence builder for pups learning to catch frisbees or dogs that are just not good at catching them. I have to admit, I am not the best at catching flying objects so when the squirrel goes flying can usually catch it and I am able to make a victory lap around the yard. The hang time is a great upside for learning, but if you are an experienced frisbee catcher than this toy will bore you, because that great hang time takes away from this distance and speed so it’s not as challenging. Back to the love.. this frisbee is pretty tough, well tougher than normal plastic ones. The squirrel has been around our house for well over a couple years and still doesn’t have a hole (can’t say the same for my Kong frisbee but that is another review), take in mind Trey (my big brother) and I will frequently play tug-o-war with frisbees if there is no clear winner in the race to catch it.

Pros:
Excellent hang time
Durable

Cons:
You don’t get the distance or speed compared to a normal frisbee

I have to share this little gem I got at the Love Your Pet Expo back in 2011. Mom was talking to the vendor (sorry don’t remember the name) and they said that this was a great ball because it bounces in different directions because of it’s shape. This Bionic Ball is a very thick rubber with a large hole in the middle and ridges along the edge, these make is bounce in random directions when it hits the ground. I have to say, I love it! This ball is always loaded and ready to go in my tennis ball thrower because it is one of the few heavy duty balls that fit.

Well I have to admit, this is a size medium which is supposed to be for 15-35lb dogs, but if you want to use the tennis ball thrower that is the size you need, otherwise I still would not hesitate to grab a large or x-large if I see one, well I would ask Mom to get it for me, she is a sucker for the look.

These next couple weeks I am planning on doing reviews on just Kong products. As a chewer, Kong products are usually on the go-to list when looking for new toys.

How best to start off this series of Kong, but with my first Kong. That’s right, mom kept it! What better for a puppy than a pacifier aka Kong Binkie. Now this Kong is designed for puppies because it is a soft rubber that normal chewers would decimate in short time. Since this is a softer rubber and puppies are chewers make sure you do supervise the little tikes, afterall we grow so fast and it’s only a matter of time until this soft rubber is too soft. Not long ago Anderson Vet Clinic posted to their Facebook page about a chunk of Kong they had to remove from a dog that tore one apart and swallowed.

So here is a picture of mine, you can’t really see it but there are a bunch of teeth marks down at the bottom which was mom’s cue that it was time to get an adult Kong toy. The real shocker is how I didn’t chew off the handle, what was I thinking. But that does bring up a bad side of this toy, I can see that handle coming off with baby chewers and being eaten, so once again SUPERVISE US!

Pros:
Great for puppies
Gives pups something positive to chew on
CUTE!

Cons:
The handle could be a weak point to chew off and swallow.

Recommend:
Yes! But only while supervised. Actually I would recommend the classic shaped Kong Puppy over the Binkie for safety reasons. If you go with the Binkie make sure you watch the wear on this toy, once you start seeing good teeth marks, its time to take it away because it wont be long until that handle is gone.

With these short winter days there is not always enough daylight for a good game of fetch after Mom and Dad get home from work. If you love to play ball this is your winter time answer, the MeteorLight K-9 LED Dog Ball. This thing is so much fun!!!!!!! Have your Mom or Dad turn it on and throw it, it stays lit up with its color changing LED lights making it easy to find at night. Mom and Dad say it is funny playing when it’s pitch black because all they see the ball go out, then they see it floating back to them. The amount of oohs and ahhs you get when camping is enough to keep me playing ball all night.

Pros:
Allows nighttime play
Waterproof
Durable (no sign of wear or tear with two dobies fighting over it)
Size of a tennis ball, so it works with tennis ball throwers
Battery lasts a long time
Bounces (not as good as a tennis ball)

Cons:
One time Dad went for a hard bounce on cement and battery popped out
Can be hard to turn on/off (Mom just steps on it with her heel)

Recommend
YES YES YES, if you love playing ball this is a source of evening/night entertainment.

Suggestions to Manufacturer:
Make more LED toys! Maybe a Frisbee or other fetching toys? I WANT MORE!!